The Servant Leadership Training Course

Over a third of Fortune magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" adhere to a principle called "servant leadership". James C. Hunter's runaway best seller The Servant introduced over a million readers around the world to this philosophy of leading through courage, compassion, and character. Now with The Servant Leadership Training Course, this acclaimed author teaches listeners immediate, practical techniques for applying the revolutionary principles.

We can get so distracted by things in life that we forget about what is seminally true. It is always about the fundamentals in work, life, sports, faith, and relationships. We can easily allow ourselves to become distracted by all kinds of things that really don't matter, and most of the time a return to the fundamentals brings us back into balance and peace in our lives.

The Power of Servant Leadership

During the last decade, we have witnessed an unparalleled explosion of interest in the practice of "servant-leadership," as today's business leaders search for a new leadership model for the 21st century. Based on the seminal work of Robert K. Greenleaf, a former AT&T executive who coined the term almost 30 years ago, servant-leadership emphasizes an emerging approach to leadership--one which puts serving others, including employees, customers, and community, first.

Wired Differently: How to Spark Better Results with a Cooperative Business Model, Servant Leadership, and Shared Values

Wired Differently shares the compelling story of National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC), a nearly 50-year-old technology business built on the cooperative model. NISC started out providing software and IT services for three rural cooperatives a half-century ago and has grown to 14 million end users in 49 US states or territories, and in Canada. Here is an organization where cooperative principles blend with leading-edge technologies to exceed expectations repeatedly....

The 5 Levels of Leadership: Proven Steps to Maximize Your Potential

True leadership isn't a matter of having a certain job or title. In fact, being chosen for a position is only the first of the five levels every effective leader achieves. To become more than "the boss" people follow only because they are required to, you have to master the ability to invest in people and inspire them. To grow further in your role, you must achieve results and build a team that produces. You need to help people to develop their skills to become leaders in their own right. And if you have the skill and dedication, you can reach the pinnacle of leadership....

H3 Leadership: Stay Hungry. Be Humble. Always Hustle.

H3 Leadership provides a practical road map for implementing and living out the transformational habits of a leader. True leadership can be complex. Brad Lomenick keeps it simple with the three transformational habits of leadership: stay hungry, be humble, always hustle. These powerful words describe the leader who is willing to work hard, get it done, and make sure it's not about him or her; the leader who knows that influence is about developing the right habits for success.

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to repeat their successes over and over? People like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers might have little in common, but they all started with why.

The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever

In Michael Bungay Stanier's The Coaching Habit, coaching becomes a regular, informal part of your day so managers and their teams can work less hard and have more impact. Drawing on years of experience training more than 10,000 busy managers from around the globe in practical, everyday coaching skills, Bungay Stanier reveals how to unlock your peoples' potential. He unpacks seven essential coaching questions to demonstrate how - by saying less and asking more - you can develop coaching methods that produce great results.

The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate the Three Essential Virtues: A Leadership Fable

In The Ideal Team Player, Lencioni tells the story of Jeff Shanley, a leader desperate to save his uncle's company by restoring its cultural commitment to teamwork. Jeff must crack the code on the virtues that real team players possess and then build a culture of hiring and development around those virtues. Beyond the fable, Lencioni presents a practical framework and actionable tools for identifying, hiring, and developing ideal team players.

Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't

Why do only a few people get to say "I love my job?" It seems unfair that finding fulfillment at work is like winning a lottery; that only a few lucky ones get to feel valued by their organizations, to feel like they belong. Imagine a world where almost everyone wakes up inspired to go to work, feels trusted and valued during the day, then returns home feeling fulfilled. This is not a crazy, idealized notion. Today, in many successful organizations, great leaders are creating environments in which people naturally work together to do remarkable things.

HBR's 10 Must Reads on Leadership

If you listen to nothing else on leadership, you should at least hear these 10 articles (featuring "What Makes an Effective Executive", by Peter F. Drucker). We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles on leadership and selected the most important ones to help you maximize your own and your organization's performance.

In this new expanded edition of her classic international best seller, Marilee Adams shows how the kinds of questions we ask shape our thinking and can be the root cause of many personal and organizational problems. She uses a highly instructive and entertaining story to show how to quickly recognize any undermining questions that pop into your mind - or out of your mouth - and reframe them to achieve amazingly positive and practical results.

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't

Built To Last, the defining management study of the 90s, showed how great companies triumph over time and how long-term sustained performance can be engineered into the DNA of an enterprise from the very beginning. But what about companies that are not born with great DNA? How can good companies, mediocre companies, even bad companies achieve enduring greatness?

Good Leaders Ask Great Questions: Your Foundation for Successful Leadership

John C. Maxwell delves into the process of becoming a successful leader by examining how questions can be used to advantage. What are the questions leaders should ask themselves? What questions should they ask members of their team? He then responds to the toughest problems leaders have presented to him. Using social media, Maxwell offered the floor to followers with unanswered questions about what it takes to achieve their professional best, and selected seventy questions on the most popular topics.

It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership

It Worked for Me is filled with vivid experiences and lessons learned that have shaped the legendary career of the four-star general and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. At its heart are Powell's "Thirteen Rules" - such as "Get mad, then get over it" and "Share credit" - that introduce his principles for effective leadership: conviction, hard work, and, above all, respect for others. A natural storyteller, Powell offers warm and engaging parables with wise advice on succeeding in the workplace and beyond.

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

In this must-listen book for anyone striving to succeed, pioneering psychologist Angela Duckworth shows parents, educators, students, and businesspeople - both seasoned and new - that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent but a focused persistence called "grit". Why do some people succeed and others fail? Sharing new insights from her landmark research on grit, MacArthur "genius" Angela Duckworth explains why talent is hardly a guarantor of success.

Thinking Like an Economist: A Guide to Rational Decision Making

Economic forces are everywhere around you. But that doesn't mean you need to passively accept whatever outcome those forces might press upon you. Instead, with these 12 fast-moving and crystal clear lectures, you can learn how to use a small handful of basic nuts-and-bolts principles to turn those same forces to your own advantage.

Experiencing God: How to Live the Full Adventure of Knowing and Doing the Will of God

When you listen to this audio, you'll find that you aren't just listening. No, you are being remade, reoriented, restored from the frustration of what you may have known as stale religion. Captured not by a concept, but by your Creator, reborn in relationship. Here's the Experiencing God that has already impacted millions of people. Only it's bigger, and better, and ready to lead you again - or for the very first time - into an experience with God.

Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World

Former general Stanley McChrystal held a key position for much of the War on Terror, as head of the Joint Special Operations Command. In Iraq he found that despite the vastly superior resources, manpower, and training of the US military, Al Qaeda had an advantage because of its structure as a loose network of small, independent cells. Those cells wreaked havoc by always staying one step ahead, sharing knowledge with each other via high-tech communications.

Be Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service

Exceeding expectations rather than simply satisfying them is the cornerstone of the Disney approach to customer service. Now, in honor of the 10th anniversary of the original Be Our Guest, the Disney Institute, which specializes in helping professionals see new possibilities through concepts not found in the typical workplace, is revealing even more of the business behind the magic of quality service.

The New One Minute Manager

For decades The One Minute Manager has helped millions achieve more successful professional and personal lives. While the principles it lays out are timeless, our world has changed drastically since the book's publication. The exponential rise of technology, global flattening of markets, instant communication, and pressures on corporate workforces to do more with less - including resources, funding, and staff - have all revolutionized the world in which we live and work.

The Power of the Other: The Startling Effect Other People Have on You, from the Boardroom to the Bedroom and Beyond - and What to Do About It

Combining engaging case studies, persuasive findings from cutting-edge brain research, and examples from his consulting practice, Dr. Cloud argues that whether you're a Navy SEAL or a corporate executive, outstanding performance depends on having the right kind of connections to fuel personal growth and minimize toxic associations and their effects.

The Complete 101 Collection: What Every Leader Needs to Know

The Complete 101 Collection includes material that in true Maxwell style helps listeners reach their potential at any stage in their career. It can be thought of as a crash course in leadership, a practical tool to sharpen the core fundamentals every professional needs. Contents include a 101 on attitude, self-improvement, leadership, relationships, success, teamwork, equipping, and mentoring. Each 101 book is an introduction to a subject, not the "advanced course".

Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges

Brilliantly researched, impassioned, and accessible, Presence is filled with stories of individuals who learned how to flourish during the stressful moments that once terrified them. Every listener will learn how to approach their biggest challenges with confidence instead of dread, and to leave them with satisfaction instead of regret.

Publisher's Summary

What is ethical leadership? Is there a difference between leadership vs management? What is strategic leadership? What is the most effective leadership philosophy? Do you wish your company had leadership coaching and leadership courses, or are you frustrated with executive leadership? Do you long for more participative leadership? You are not alone.

So why does leadership suck?

It sucks because real leadership is hard, requires selfless service, and because the buck stops here. Servant leadership or Level 5 leadership is uncomfortable, humbling, self-denying, painful, and counterintuitive; nonetheless, participative leadership is the only kind of leadership that brings lasting results, genuine happiness, and true self-fulfillment.

The book is divided into four parts:

Part 1: To serve or not to serve. Educational leadership requires servant leadership.

Part 2: Do what's best for your organization. Discusses various aspects of organizational leadership and culture

Stan Lee is often credited with the statement, “With great power comes great responsibility.” “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” said Shakespeare in Henry IV Part II. Either statement is perhaps an apt synopsis of the book, “Why Leadership Sucks: The Fundamentals of Level 5 Leadership and Servant Leadership.” The book does an excellent job of detailing the price, the frustrations, the rewards, and the responsibilities that go with leadership.

Far from an aggressive battle cry, the author creates a thoughtful portrait of what it truly takes to be a leader and why the big corner office may in fact be the last place you want to be. He also paints an honest picture of the rewards of leadership as he interweaves the key suggestions of numerous other popular-press management books and adds insights based upon Christian theology. To his credit, the author takes pains to carefully cite his source material, and near the end of the book he even lists his sources and suggests additional readings.

Some might be tempted to criticize this eclecticism of influences as derivative. However, here the combination works. Plus, in only a little over four and a half hours, you can gain the key insights of more than 30 hours of books. I know. I’ve listened to or read the majority of his source material previously.

Appropriate to the tone of the material, the author/narrator does not employ a forceful motivational speaker tone. This is not to say he will put you to sleep, but this is not the audiobook to keep you pumped up for a long drive.

All in all, this audiobook is a good choice for the aspiring executive, or the proven one, looking for an efficient way to gain the key insights of much of the current popular-press management literature. It’s worth the time.

Mr. Smith’s book is an excellent synthesis of existing popular management books ranging from classics like “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” to more recent works such as “Blue Ocean Strategy.” There is no groundbreaking information presented, with many of the works mentioned as required reading in many MBA programs. However, this audiobook is a good review of basic communication concepts that many forget after B-school. Right from the start, this book contains a very heavy, explicit religious bent throughout that may be off-putting to many readers. Laced with bible verses and references to “ultimate” rewards for being a good leader/manager, Mr. Smith implies a very particular and narrow moral high ground for many of the expressed opinions and practices.

The stand-out quality of this book is its fantastic production and excellent narration by the author.

I really enjoyed this read as someone who is getting ready to make her move for a corner office in the next six months, I read anything that will give me a leg up. When I started reading this book I realized that I was listening to the Voice of Experience with respect to the information.

Whether Author Smith gleaned this knowledge from living it or watching it he got the system and the pitfalls down pat. I enjoyed reading of his personal experience and his subtextual thoughts on everything it takes.

True some of it is personal choice but . . . it is backed up with antedotes and musings from a corner office veteran. The structure was conversational vs preachy and you could almost see him leaning in your office doorway from time to time. For a folksy chat about corporate structure and motivation.

Overall the price of the ticket was well worth the ride I recommend this audio to all levels of management and want to be management. Great commute time, make it work for you.

Yes! "Why Leadership Sucks" is a great audiobook! It addresses the difficult to discuss topics when in a leadership position, as well as provides guidance on completing tasks when these topics hinder production in the workplace. The author does not hold back! It is very straightforward and discusses common and uncommon topics that leaders in any organization deal with.

Who was your favorite character and why?

This audiobook isn't based on specific characters nor based around a particular story. This audiobook addresses real life situations from a leader's perspective.

What does Miles Anthony Smith bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Miles Anthony Smith does not hold back when it comes to addressing the issues that leaders in a workplace face. This author establishes these issues and provides guidance to addressing them.

What made the experience of listening to Why Leadership Sucks the most enjoyable?

You get a real insight into the great leaders of the past and how they can effect you in your management style, not always meaningful to your management but a skill that needs to be learnt to progress in other areas of leadership.

What did you like best about this story?

This shows we are all leaders, and by ignoraing that we do not doo ourselves or our colleagues justice

What about Miles Anthony Smith’s performance did you like?

You really get a sense you are in a small group discussing the subject, a really personal approach that allows you to reflect more.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me calm and reflective, it is a boom to make you think about you and how you portray yourself in your life

I would not read this book again. However, it is not because it is not good. It is a good intro book for those who have never read a book on leadership. The leadership beliefs of the author are in line with common leadership gurus like John Maxwell. If you are looking to begin the process of reading about the collective theories on leadership, this is a great place to start.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The book starts out very cogent with master themes about leadership. It ends with "campfire stories" as one reviewer put it. So, you have to reorient your expectations towards the end of the book as multiple short stories and allegories about leadership. All good nuggets of wisdom.

What about Miles Anthony Smith’s performance did you like?

He puts himself out there and is very transparent in his own journey through learning these principles. By no means does he make you think "he has arrived" and you are not as great as him.

Any additional comments?

If you are a person heading into your first middle management job: director or even vice president, this is a great place to start for you. If you are heading to the executive suite, this book may contain principles you have already read before.

What made the experience of listening to Why Leadership Sucks the most enjoyable?

Miles Smith interweaves personal introspection with the wisdom from great leaders in order to urge each of us to do better at work and at home. This is not a photoshopped picture of leadership. It is genuine. It is direct and honest.

What did you like best about this story?

Many leadership books are only applicable to people already in an official business position. This book understands that everyone is a leader on some level. It can help improve our caliber of leadership while better understanding the strengths and/or weaknesses of those leading us.

What about Miles Anthony Smith’s performance did you like?

Miles shares his book as if he were sharing campfire stories about leadership with his friends. Some triumphant tales - some ghost stories - all useful to anyone wanting to be a better leader.

Learn what it takes to become a level 5 leader, also called servant leadership. Leadership is hard. Do you have what it takes to be a leader? Can managers be good leaders too? This audiobook will inspire you to become a better leader!

What I love best about Why Leadership Sucks is that it addresses both the good and the bad aspects of being a leader. Often, leaders are placed into compromising situations and this audiobook addresses these issues.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Why Leadership Sucks?

One of the most memorable moments of Why Leadership Sucks is when the author discusses the desire to stay one step ahead of its followers by micro-managing. This is very common in the corporate world and Author Miles Anthony Smith is very proficient in discussing the cons accompanied as an outcome of this.

Have you listened to any of Miles Anthony Smith’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first time that I have listened to this author. I have read the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and this audiobook does not hold back while going further in depth in discussing leadership issues. That makes this a must read!

Any additional comments?

I would recommend this audiobook to anyone pursuing or currently in a leadership role!